Kansas is not my home...
After I got saved I was dumbfounded to meet missionaries that actually devoted their lives to a mission calling. Who left their familiar surroundings to venture out into a foreign land and minister to and share the love of Jesus with people who were different than them.
You see, my upbringing (in the Mormon religion) taught that missions weren't so much a calling, but a duty; a 'right of passage' per se. Young people were expected to give 2 years of their lives to a predetermined mission field. It was something that was pretty much a requirement.
So, to meet people who literally felt called to leave the comforts of their home and family and friends, and devote their lives to living in a place that is foreign to them, was pretty much a crazy thought, in my mind.
I'll never forget the first time I met my friend Christine, she and her husband and kids were on furlough, back in the US from their mission in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo-Congo for short....), They were staying in the parsonage home of the Baptist church where I attended (and got saved) and were invited to share with the congregation an update on their mission life in Africa.
I was enticed, and attended the special meeting. Christine and her husband, Dan had all these beautiful blonde hair, blue eyed daughters and I couldn't wrap my mind around how they could raise them in a place like Zaire.
After Dan gave his update, Christine addressed the audience from the podium complete with a slide show...
Her first comments where how when she and Dan were dating she knew full well that Dan (a redheaded white man) had been raised in Africa by his white missionary parents. Dan is actually the third generation of this particular family ministering in Africa. She prayed that God would not send them to Africa!
But after they were married, that's exactly where they wound up!
She pulled up the funniest slide picture of all of them in a group (family) photo wearing mismatched clothes that were missing buttons and some of the children had on broken glasses. She said this was the idea of life on the mission field that she had in her head! How hilarious!
I also remember her sharing her heart for the 'nationals' that she and Dan and their family ministered to in Africa. How their hearts ached because of the dire situations that a lot of people were in there. She shared about the malnourished children whose hair had turned red because of their poverty stricken diets that were missing simple things like salt and minerals.
After hearing their story that night, I was so struck by the extreme basic needs of these dear people that I went out and bought containers of table salt and boxes of baby cereal and brought them to Dan and Christine to take back with them to Africa. She was gracious enough, and accepted my gift, probably wondering how in the world to pack such items to take to Africa! I was naive then, but my heart was in the right place!
Over time, I started really learning the Bible and my heart was truly becoming sold out to Jesus. I started wishing I could be a missionary someday, but it seemed impossible and unrealistic at the time...
Fast forward to today, Jay and I are now living in a place that is very foreign to us, is not our culture, and is far far away from our loved ones and everything familiar!
We do joke at times, that we are in a mission field, right here in Kansas! And truly so, because the only reason we are here is because we love Jesus and feel called to minister in Abilene. I wonder if anyone even realizes that at times? I was talking to my Dad recently on the phone and lamenting the fact that no one wants to come to Kansas to visit us. I said how I don't blame them, Kansas doesn't mean anything to our loved ones as this is not their home. Whenever we get a chance to, it is us that have to travel to our family and visit them in their homes.
I love praying with my husband, we do that together every morning. His heart always defaults to pray for the people in our church first and foremost before family. It is actually very endearing to me. Of course I love and am burdened for our church family as well, but its not my default setting to put them before our own family, like he does. That leaves me baffled some times, because truly his heart is burdened for those we live among.
It is hard living in a foreign place; and lonely, too. Holidays are the worst. We are right smack in the middle of the heartland surrounded by a multitude of families, good American born and bred families, that work together and play together on a regular basis. We are always thrilled to see generations of families sitting together on a church pew any given Sunday. But, it truly magnifies our loneliness at times. Its hard to describe or understand.
But this is our calling, it is the center of God's will for our lives; so we submit and live to the glory of God.
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